Monthly Archives: May 2015

Built in 1897 this aqueduct and associated stone wall and reservoir are in incredibly good condition, making a very interesting historical site to visit, and one that is suitable for astrophotography. I enjoy being there under the stars imagining what it was like for the people who constructed and lived at the facility in 1897 knowing that the night sky they would have seen then would have looked almost identical to the sky I am looking up at. I’ve been visiting granite outcrops and associated reserves in the Wheatbelt of WA since about 2001, and this is now one of my favorites. Karalee Rocks has a large granite wall which channels the water to this aqueduct and then on to the associated dam.

The Karalee Aqueduct was built to service the Perth to Kalgoorlie (goldfields) railway in the late 1800’s and was in service until desel trains took over after 1950. The project was quite an undertaking for the time and this is obvious in the grand construction of the aqueduct (only the shorter section is shown in this photograph, it goes to well over twice my height eventually) and stone wall around the Karalee Rocks (some slabs of granite being about my height).

In the above photograph the Milky Way shines brightly over the iron aqueduct as I returned from over 5 hours hiking around the Karalee Rocks with my camera gear.

You might think “5 hours hiking, that’s nothing!” but 5 hours dissapears very quickly at night when busy photographing and with no sun to make the changing time so noticable. 5:30pm – 11:30pm flys by and is a long time to be constantly on your feet hiking and taking photo’s. I can tell you after all that time standing up, walking over jagged rock, carrying a bunch of gear and wearing warm enough clothes for the sub-5-degrees temperature, I was very keen to get back to the car and rest! But – I couldn’t help but try and get a decent photo of what I went to Karalee for and ended up spending another 40 minutes on my feet before deciding to call it a night.

The Milky Way rises in the east over a granite outcrop in the Goldfields region of Western Australia.

The Milky Way rises above a granite outcrop in the Goldfields region of Western Australia. Settling down for the first shot of the evening, I decided to leave my backpack in the exposures, recognising the presence of the one person taking the photographs.

Stars can be seen reflecting in the bottom left rock pool. Gazing in to these rock pools with stars and the Milky Way reflecting is like looking through a portal in to another universe. Up in the sky there is the Eta Carina Nebula in the far right top, Southern Cross and Pointers nearby and near the head of The Emu which is virtually sitting on the rock.

The colour of the rock jumps out at you under the moonlight which is illuminating the landscape and giving the night sky some of its blue hue.

With a shape and appearance that immediately struck me as being reminiscent of the Hubble Space Telescope’s view of the V838 Monocerotis this image could perhaps be one of my most abstract attempts yet to make the most of somewhat, let’s say, undesirable weather conditions! 🙂

I love the way that the silhouetted tree looms out of the darkness, out of the mist and cloud and almost stretches out towards you while at the same time appearing to cradle the remaining clear window in to the stars, as emphasised by the shape of the clouds.

The image shows two bright stars, their presence emphasised by the cloud which has diffused their light. These stars are Canopus (left) and Sirius (right), Sirius being the brightest star in the sky and at this time of year setting low in the west after sunset.

This was taken at a popular Western Australian astrophotography and camping location – Lake Ballard, on a 1800km round-trip I did this weekend just gone (21st May 2015). Arriving after dark I had just parked, barely got myself sorted with minimal camera gear, walked about 10m, plonked the camera down, looked up and said to myself with cloud encroging “wow, that’s a shot!”. I quickly snapped it before the cloud moved or the cloud completely engulfed the stars! The night then went on to be a fairly damp affair with intermittent rain throughout he night.

Following on from my previous post of he Perth Observatory Meridian Dome this is a fun photograph of a satellite dish atop another building at the Perth Observatory. Distinctly an observatory building but with the dome obscured by the high walls and my close proximity you will note the curved nature of the wall.

The Milky Way is shining nicely in the background above the Perth Observatory with notable features include the two pointers (Alpha & Beta Centauri) in the top right. Antares is the bright yellow star in the top-left-centre region. Beyond the bulge of the Milky Way the star density decreases to deep space.

I struggled to find a fun name for this photograph, starting off with “Messaging the Stars” but then thought about the practicalities of the dish being used for satellite internet connection which hardly justifies such a grand name! I settled on the “Communications from Orbit”, more representative of the actual infrastructure but perhaps less emotive! 🙂

Prints available upon request, drop me an email. 20% of all profits from Perth Observatory prints donated to operation of the observatory.

At the Perth Observatory again last night (for a committee meeting, nothing exciting I assure you!) I took the opportunity of a clear night without public or astrophotography workshop to snap a few pictures of the Milky Way. Here’s a quick one of the Meridian Telescope Dome. Not currently in use, the dome as once manned every night of the year as part of the Meridian Program. I like the light falling on the Meridian building in this photograph, subtly outlining it’s unique shape.

It’s a great time of year to be photographing the central bulge of the Milky Way, as it’s rising at a very reasonable hour soon after sunset. It’s bright and easy to see and photograph under semi-dark skies (or darker). Here the central bulge of the Milky Way is shown behind top-left of the telescope building. [click here for larger image]

About

Started by Roger Groom in 2003 Astro Photography Australia sells prints, copyright use, acrylic photo blocks and mugs of astrophotography. Every print is high quality made to last, making great gifts.

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Stock quantities are shown for products, I attempt to keep these as up to date. Many 5x7, 12x8 and 50x33 prints are in stock all the time and ship within two business days. I tend to produce larger prints on-demand requiring a lead time of one to two weeks. Astro Mugs and Acrylic Photo Blocks stock quantities on the website are accurate, those not in stock require a two week lead time. If timing is critical for your order please contact me first to check stock on hand.